New to Joining/Planing and need some advice

[Sam Hampton]

I just bought a JET 10" Jointer/Planer and am messing around trying to get the hang of it. I've never really dealt with trying to make finished pieces but more just rough tables, and shelves, and framing. I am wanting to make a box with routered edges with the back and top and bottom meeting at 45 degree angles just for the look. I have some walnut that has been dried and my Uncle ran it through a planer for me. I just don't have enough to mess any up so I started with some scrap poplar I had just to get a feel for the machine. Thought I was getting the hang of it until I kicked the fence back to a 45 and tried to cut the bevel on another piece. It started cutting the angle on one side and gradually faded to nothing a little more than halfway through the board. Does this mean that the wood was not straight and possibly had a bow or is there some setup on the planer that would cause this. I would have tested more but I accidently broke the lock on the infeed table right after that. I guess I was a little ambitious when I tightened it. JET says I'll have a new one on Tues.. I'm just really excited about getting into woodworking and bought a few tools and think I understand the principles but don't have the knowledge that comes with experience. Thanks.

[John Coloccia]

A good first step would be to sight down the board and see if the edge is bowed. Learn to trust your eyes and hands if you can. Once you've done that, stick the board down on the jointer's outfeed table, using the outfeed as a straightedge, and see if you were right (trust but verify, right? :D ).

Personally, I don't ever try to make a bevel with the jointer. I find it's too hard to keep the board from sliding away. I'll cut it on the table saw and make a cleanup pass with the jointer. That's just me. I do it rarely enough that I never put the time into making it work right. Either that or I'm missing the 45-degree-angle-on-the-jointer talent gene! What usually happens with me is that as I push it along, the bottom kicks out. I think part of that is fear on my part that the bottom will kick out and I'll stick my hand into the cutter somehow, so I'm not aggressive enough...and, uh the bottom...well...kicks out. LOL. It's silly because my hands are never anywhere near the cutters anyway.

I feel like I just went to confession. Glad that's off my mind!

[lou sansone]

I agree
use the jointer to flatten the board and use your saw to joint it

lou